I went ahead and did some X-Men buttons, just to test the waters. I think my problem before was that I chose a not-as-popular or well-known character. So this time I chose Emma Frost, and I have done a great one of Wolverine I need to post. Emma’s gotten some good reactions so far. I also listed another Iron Man button; there are some more Captain America buttons that need to go up, and I still have to make some Thor buttons. Hard finding good images of Thor….I think it’s the sheer mass of him. I had the same problem with The Incredible Hulk. She-Hulk is much easier to work with. Red Sonja is doing okay, but I had rather hoped that she would appeal to both comic fans AND fantasy fans, and thus get more notice. (I was hoping Zatanna would do the same in regards to magic lovers and Las Vegas)

Moving away from Marvel…..my Green Lantern button is getting some notice. Starfire has been drawing some good attention, although I give more credit to her considerable assets for that. Raven’s also picking up, and I am considering doing another button of her. That’s probably personal bias coming in–like Iron Man and Robin/Nightwing, Raven is one of the key characters that drew me in to the world of comics in the first place. I really should do some buttons of Robin and Nightwing, now that I think about it. Superman too; I’ve got Wonder Woman and Batman up, so I may as well complete the trinity.

On the villain side, I have two listings for buttons featuring Harley Quinn, one on her own and the other sharing space with The Joker. I plan to do at least one button of Poison Ivy, and if she gets a good response too then I might branch out into other Batman villains. Don’t really want to do one of Lex Luthor as I prefer more instantly recognizable characters. I’ll have to do more thinking on the villain side. Let me get back to you on that, okay?

On to what I came here to talk about–the Uncanny X-MEN. I went to see the new movie tonight and fell in love! It’s awesome! It moved me, it floored me, it inspired me. Mainly inspired my writing, but I’m thinking of button ideas too. I have some comic buttons up on Etsy now, but aside from one featuring Polaris and another talking about Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton, I don’t have any buttons focusing on the X-Men. I plan to change that fact as soon as physically possible. I am definitely going to do the instantly recognizable ones like Mystique and Beast, but if I can find a good iconic picture of Emma Frost (preferably in her diamond form) as well as nice pics of the others, I will do them too. The comic book buttons haven’t really garnered the attention I wanted though. I’ve only sold one comic book item and that was a button featuring Catwoman and Batman facing off in front of the Bat Signal. None of my Marvel ones have sold. HOWEVER. I refuse to let that fact stop me. There are comic book fans out there on Etsy. I know it. I just have to dial in to the right character/series/movie at the right time. Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and several DC characters couldn’t get the job done, but maybe the sheer variety of the X-Men and their powers will spark some interest. Hey, maybe I should do one of a character wielding fire!

Also, in the previews before the movie, I saw a trailer for the next Transformers movie. That one looks amazing too! I love both of the previous Transformers films, and while watching this trailer I decided I should show that love with buttons. Unfortunately, the very images of the robots that look so awesome on the screen will be pretty much impossible to translate successfully on a 2.25 inch circle. I may be stuck with phrases and the symbols for the warring factions. I’ll see what I can do. Any thoughts?

The sales at Anime Boston went VERY well. 60 out of 100 buttons sold, all of them anime/manga-related phrase buttons. I’ve listed some of the more general fandom ones on my Etsy store. Also, in preparation and response to the imminent release of “Captain America”, “Thor”, and “The Green Lantern” movies, I have started adding comic-book related buttons. I’m trying to focus on pictures but there are some good phrases in there too. I was hoping to get more notice for these buttons in particular since Thor would also be good for mythology buffs and Captain America works for patriotic people and Independence Day too. So far they have not garnered the attention I was hoping they would. I’m going to work on more movie buttons in general too, and maybe some old-school cartoons like Scooby Doo and Hanna Barbara.

Moving away from entertainment media and buttons….I have a new kitten! His name is Rocky, he’s about seven weeks old, and he is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. When he purrs, he’s so loud and strong we joke that he has a HEMI engine installed in his chest! My parents rescued him from our apartment complex on Saturday and he came to us knowing how to use the litter box, which is AWESOME. Especially since, like all baby animals, he goes a hell of a lot. ^_^; He loves sitting on people’s chests too. My older cats are all terrified of him for some reason though. I hope they get over that soon–he is the least threatening thing imaginable. I am probably going to make some kitten buttons in honor of him now.

Sorry I’ve been away for so long. I had some personal issues in January that put me into a deep depression, and I got out of the button-making and selling business for a while. I just started back up this week, and not only is one of my best friends helping me develop a website AWAY from Etsy to sell buttons, but my other best friend has pretty much convinced me to try and sell my buttons at a craft show in May. I’m up to 253 sales on Etsy too! So, things are looking up. And my website friend is taking some buttons up to Anime Boston to sell for me when she goes!

My birthday was great, although money has been a little tight the last few months so I wasn’t able to do everything I wanted to. Again, I didn’t sell any holiday-themed buttons, but because I love the shamrock (and pretty much anything related to Saint Patrick’s Day), I am leaving them up year-round, so maybe I’ll get some interest in them another time. I’ve listed some spring buttons, but nothing specifically Easter-related. I figure the pattern will hold and Easter buttons probably would not sell. Watch something prove me wrong now, just because.

I’ve spent the last week getting a PAGES of new phrases for buttons, and I’ve attacked my stash of adorable Japanese stationery as well, so I have a new inventory that’s going to be going up soon. Thanks for reading!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I meant to post here during that time, but I was so swamped with orders and button-making that posting completely slipped my mind. But, I intend to change that in the new year. I will learn from my experiences this fall and hopefully become a better seller in the future. And one of the most important things I have learned is….holiday-themed buttons apparently do not sell well. At all. At least for me. I didn’t sell any Halloween buttons, sold only one Thanksgiving button (that was a surprise in itself), and only one Christmas button. And both the Thanksgiving and Christmas sales were Snoopy buttons. Frosty, Santa, the Nutcracker, snowmen, snow….none of those sold, although a lot of people looked at them. *sigh* So, note to self. Don’t put up many themed holiday buttons. I’ve made a couple of shamrock-themed ones for Saint Patrick’s Day, but that was really more because I love the shamrock. With my birthday being the day before, it only makes sense. I’ll list one or two of those and see how it works. I’ve put up some romantic buttons for Valentine’s Day but none of them are obviously Valentine’s Day-themed; maybe that will help. It’s too late to put up any new year buttons–I wish I had thought of that in September or October. Grrr. Anyway, in the new year I will post only one or two holiday-themed ones at a time and when/if those sell I will make and put up more.

In other news, I have fallen in love (again) with the minions from Despicable Me. I’m on the fence about making buttons with them on it and selling them; 1. I’m not sure how well they would sell, and 2. I am afraid of getting in trouble with people higher up on the chain. Disney hasn’t come after me yet for selling merchandise with their characters on it, but my best friend HAS received a “cease and desist” letter from Nintendo for selling Pokemon items. And I have known some other people who have been warned by other companies. I just want to play it safe, you know? I will make one button of the minions for myself–beyond that, I need to think. By the way, I would love to do some Pokemon buttons, but I don’t want to get the same letter.

I need to make some rabbit buttons for Easter…..should I do egg buttons too? Or just leave it with flowers and cute insects?

I’m up to 90 sales on Etsy! Woo-hoo! My best sellers are still the phrase buttons–specifically, the one that says “You’re a great friend, but if zombies chase us I’m tripping you”. I expected that during October, but I have sold three more since then. Interesting. I think that brings the count up to six of that particular one.

I am going to continue making picture buttons, as that is what I really like. I’ve bought a whole bunch of storybooks to use. I’m also trying to find more…masculine…images. I found some good ones in video game magazines. The Master Chief from Halo, Link from Zelda, Darth Vader and Yoda, etc. I haven’t found a lot, but it’s a start. Any ideas on where I could get more images suited for guys? Aside from using Playboy. *laughs* I don’t think I could sell those on Etsy. Let me know if you have suggestions!

NONE of my Halloween buttons have sold! I am surprised at this. I did a good variety of them, from candy corn to black cats to Frankenstein’s Monster and its Bride, to a ghost. There are “zombie goodies” and bats and a witch and a dancing skeleton. There is even Snoopy playing with a jack-o-lantern! So why haven’t any of them found good homes yet? They look great! I also listed them for Day of the Dead, but that failed to get any serious attention either.

I made a Thanksgiving Snoopy button with him dressed in a pilgrim outfit. THAT one sold within a few hours of me putting it up. Go figure. When my mom (and business partner) suggested I make a Thanksgiving one I was not sure it would get much attention. I mean, I haven’t really seen a lot of Thanksgiving decoration aside from the stuff you put on your table, like salt/pepper shakers and table runners and centerpieces. But apparently there are people out there who like Thanksgiving buttons.

I am hoping my Christmas buttons will get more notice. Santa, Frosty, Snoopy and Charlie Brown, and angels. I have some other Christmas/winter designs but am a little reluctant to put them up, given what happened with the Halloween buttons. Should I go ahead and list them? Do you think they will get more notice? Or should I just give them as gifts to friends?